Gallery: Gold Coast town house combo

Trader Tom Gariti and his wife, Leann, are asking $4.6 million for their five-bedroom Gold Coast home, two townhouses they combined. Built in 1876, the renovated home includes a near-new interior and four parking spaces.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mark Dominas

Records show the couple paid $657,500 in 1997 for the first row home near Astor and Division. After a blizzard in 1999, Mr. Gariti overheard his neighbor complain about shoveling. "The next day the husband came over and we shook hands and had a deal," he said. Records show they paid $760,000 for the second property.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mark Dominas

Mr. Gariti, who trades interest-rate futures, estimates they spent $2.5 million converting the properties to a 5,500-square-foot home, which took about four years after winning approval from the city's landmark commission. "It was down to three walls: the sides, the front, no roof and no back," Mr. Gariti said.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mark Dominas

Like many homeowners, the family rarely eats in the dining room. But the Garitis lounge by the bay window. Red oak floors, dictated by the landmark commission, abound throughout the home.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mark Dominas

While awaiting city approvals, the family simply poked through holes through the walls and lived in conjoined homes with two kitchens, eight fireplaces, and "double" everything, Mr. Gariti said. The new kitchen includes top appliances and a tray ceiling "just for fun," Ms. Gariti said.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mark Dominas

The breakfast room, which opens to a deck, is another space for entertaining. The row homes, which sit in a landmarked district, were apartment buildings where a bricklayer housed his employees, Mr. Gariti said.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mark Dominas

The sun room adjoins the property's courtyard and garage with the home's ground floor, which includes a bedroom, media room, and kitchenette. "It's a great space, you can sit there and watch it rain, watch it snow," said Ms. Gariti, an interior decorator. "It gets used a lot."

PHOTO CREDIT: Mark Dominas

The home has 62 windows, including some in the first-floor family room, another hangout. The couple is selling because their children, 3 and 5 when they bought the first row home, are in college now.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mark Dominas

On the other side of the family room is a billiards den with French doors opening to the courtyard.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mark Dominas

An original fireplace is present in the master bedroom. Each of the home's five bedrooms includes its own bathroom.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mark Dominas

The home encircles a large central courtyard, which is rare in the neighborhood. The family has hosted several barbeques and "used to have a lot of kids over from the neighborhood to play," Mr. Gariti said.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mark Dominas

The home includes four parking spaces, including two in a garage and two others on the bluestone parking pad. The whole patio has a snow melting system, Mr. Gariti said.

A half-dozen apartments on the 31st floor of the Michigan Avenue tower have been fully renovated for the first time in more than 40 years. They’re available for rents ranging from $18,000 to $34,000 a month, depending on the size and season. Take a photo tour.
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